STANDING OUT IN A CROWD

Once again, as I sit down to write, I look out on the landscape and something catches my eye. Off in the distance I see two white birch trees on the edge of the woods to the north of the church building. It’s a beautiful and unseasonably warm day for January, but it’s the sunshine illuminating those birch trees that makes all the difference… they almost glow in contrast to the grey-brown winter woods.

That contrast reminds me of how a Christian should stand out in this dark world. Consider the following passages, which speak of Christians as bearing Christ’s light:

Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Ephesians 5:8-9 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)

Phillipians 2:14-15 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Just as those birch trees stood out from the rest of the woods as they reflected the light of the sun, all Christians should stand out from the crowd as we reflect the light of the Son! They should see the hope within us, as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:15:

... in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect (ESV).

I pray that our lives are so filled with the hope that is ours in Christ that the world sees us “glow” with His light. Let’s stand out from the crowd in a good way … that attracts people to Christ!

In His grip,
Pastor Decker